Why Do We Vote?

Kano’s egalitarian ideology was popular with the impoverished masses and they rallied their unyielding support behind him. He united the talakawas—commoners who were made to pay exorbitant taxes and forced to provide free labour by farming land owned by the feudal class—to resist tyranny and fight to be regarded as humans with freedom and dignity. Many talakawas and migratory petty traders in Northern Nigeria supported Aminu Kano’s message. His struggle yielded many achievements: the talakawas were no longer forced to farm on feudal land without pay; taxes such as haraji (formal tax) and jangali (cattle tax) were abolished; the children of talakawas could acquire education to whatever level they desired; and political positions were opened to all. Thus, it is no surprise that Buhari’s social welfare-leaning policies resonate with the people of Kano.

During the 2019 campaigns, political candidates belonging to several parties participated in a multitude of televised debates and town hall meetings. Not once since the return to democratic rule in 1999 have presidential candidates been as accessible as they were during the last elections. Voters questioned candidates on their plans for Nigeria’s growth and it seemed as though we were finally ready for an election to be decided by ideological merit. Typical of elections in Nigeria, politicians made many outrageous promises to Nigerians. One of such pledges was African Action Congress’s Omoyele Sowore vowing to increase the minimum wage to N100,000 during the time when activists were fighting for an increase to N30,000. However, one thing was clear. The politicians stopped short of providing substantive details that can, at the very least, give insight into how they plan to design and implement their policies.

Every election cycle, Nigeria’s political parties recycle empty promises to fight corruption, reform the education sector, ensure security, provide infrastructural development, promote the rule of law, create jobs and achieve impactful economic growth—any idea that would help the party win. In mature democracies, party manifestos play a major role in politics and politicians traditionally present policies in line with their party ideologies. The 2016 presidential elections in the United States (US) was arguably one of the most contentious and divisive elections in the country’s modern history. Democrats and Republicans in the US are categorized based on their ideological leanings towards sensitive issues such as abortion, LGBTQ rights, immigration or the economy. Both frontrunners promised to improve the lives of Americans but the differences in ideology separated the candidates from each other in the eyes of the electorate.

However, in Nigeria, policy details often do not motivate the average voter. Kano state seems to be the exception. The states in southeast (except Anambra) and south-south have consistently voted for the PDP despite the lack of economic growth and development in the region. It is curious why voters in these states continue to vote PDP despite the inability of the PDP-led governments to take advantage of the economic potential posed by Aba in Abia state and oil and gas in the Niger Delta.

Politicians are notorious for making promises they cannot fulfil in order to gain votes. In 2015, with the recession and foreign exchange problems in Nigeria, Buhari promised an exchange rate of $1/N1. Clearly, this was unrealistic. When all else fails, politicians resort to ridiculous ploys to win votes. Days before the elections, Governor Aregbesola and Governors vying for re-elections paid salaries, pensions or gratuities which the State governments had owed civil servants for months; Governor Yari gave N1 million to clerics in his state to ‘preach in his favour’ a day to the election; and others distributed items such as kerosene,rice, notebooks, garri, and shoe-shining kits.